Author: chicagoinquirer

\by Joey Cappelletti and Bill Barrow WASHINGTON  — JB Pritzker took a water taxi along the Chicago Riverwalk, past one of Donald Trump’s famous downtown towers. The gleaming and heavily trafficked tourist district was a deliberate backdrop on the day the Illinois governor directed a defiant message toward the White House: “Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here.” The governor’s protests, however, may not matter. After Trump’s National Guard deployments to Los Angeles in June and Washington, D.C. this month, the Republican says his next targets for federal intervention may be two…

by Mark Sherman WASHINGTON  — Public schools reopened Monday in the nation’s capital with parents on edge over the presence of thousands of National Guard troops, some armed, and federal law enforcement officers. Even as President Donald Trump again touted a drop in crime that he attributed to his extraordinary effort to take over policing in Washington, D.C., the district’s mayor was lamenting the effect of Trump’s actions on children. “Parents are anxious,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference, noting that some might keep their children out of school because of immigration concerns. “We know that our schools…

by Angele Woolse George Mason University’s efforts to diversify its workforce violate a civil rights law intended to end segregation, according to the Trump administration. Following a roughly six-week-long investigation of GMU’s hiring practices, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has found that the Northern Virginia-based university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race in public education. To resolve the alleged violation, the department has proposed an agreement that would require Mason President Gregory Washington to issue a statement and “personal apology … for promoting unlawful discriminatory…

by Christine Fernando, John O’Connor and Michelle L. Price CHICAGO  — President Donald Trump on Friday said Chicago will likely be the next target of his efforts to crack down on crime, homelessness and illegal immigration. Trump indicated that the Midwestern city could receive similar treatment to what he’s done in Washington, D.C., where he’s deployed 2,000 troops on the streets. “I think Chicago will be our next,” Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding, “And then we’ll help with New York.” The comments came as the Pentagon on Friday began ordering troops in Washington to carry firearms,…

by Sam Mcneil, David Mchugh and Fatima Hussein BRUSSELS — American and European Union officials released a bare-bones account Thursday of their trade deal that imposes a 15% import tax on 70% of European goods exported to the United States, but they left blank key areas such as wine and spirits as well as steel and indicated that talks would continue on those and a slew of other important sectors. The two sides said the document was only “a first step in a process that can be further expanded to cover additional areas.” They are dealing with the vast range…

by Sara Cline Louisiana lawmakers are being told to keep their calendars open in the weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments over the state’s embattled congressional map. Legislators say they have received texts and emails from House Speaker Phillip DeVillier telling them to keep their schedules flexible between Oct. 23 and Nov. 13. While the communications did not specify the reasoning, multiple lawmakers have told The Associated Press that it is assumed to be for a possible special legislative session for congressional redistricting. DeVillier could not immediately be reached for comment. Rep. Edmond Jordan,…

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda has agreed to a deal with the United States to take deported migrants as long as they don’t have criminal records and are not unaccompanied minors, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The ministry said in a statement that the agreement had been concluded but that terms were still being worked out. It added that Uganda prefers that the migrants sent there be of African nationalities, but did not elaborate on what Uganda might get in return for accepting deportees. The U.S. embassy in Uganda declined to comment on what it called “diplomatic negotiations,” but said…

by Nicholas Riccardi The Democratic-controlled legislature on Thursday started debate on a package of bills that would put a new, pro-Democratic congressional map on the November ballot. The move is an explicit response to Texas Republicans’ push to redraw their own map to add up to five winnable House seats before the 2026 midterms. Voters will have to approve the California action because, unlike Texas, the state has a nonpartisan commission that normally draws lines. “We don’t want this fight and we didn’t choose this fight, but with our democracy on the line we will not run away from this…

by Curtis Yee and Michael Warren With nearly 2,000 National Guard troops expected to be deployed in Washington as part of President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement crackdown, parts of the nation’s capital have started to look like occupied territory with massive miliary transport vehicles dotting the city. The average number of people arrested each day in Washington during the first 10 days of Trump’s federal takeover increased by about 20%. Those totals include arrests by both local police and federal officers, but not immigration arrests, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss data…

by John Hanna, Sara Cline and Jim Vertuno AUSTIN, Texas  — Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier refused to come to the Texas state Capitol for two weeks. Now she won’t leave, and fellow Democrats are joining her protest. Collier was among dozens of Democrats who left the state for the Democratic havens of California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York to delay the Republican-controlled Legislature’s approval of redrawn congressional districts sought by President Donald Trump. When they returned Monday, Republicans insisted that Democrats have around-the-clock police escorts to ensure they wouldn’t leave again and scuttle Wednesday’s planned House vote on a…